Our View: Fall River's long road to a charter review

Tuesday

Apr 29, 2014 at 6:30 PMApr 29, 2014 at 7:02 PM

It's proven to be a much more daunting task than originally envisioned, but the efforts led by Fall River City Councilor Michael Miozza and a group of volunteers to finally revise the city charter continues the slow and steady work it began in 2011 to get a referendum on the ballot to establish a charter review commission.

Herald News Editorial Board

It’s proven to be a much more daunting task than originally envisioned, but the efforts led by Fall River City Councilor Michael Miozza and a group of volunteers to finally revise the city charter continues the slow and steady work it began in 2011 to get a referendum on the ballot to establish a charter review commission.

Now the Fall River Charter Review Group has officially attained nonprofit status, allowing it to raise funds to spread the word about its mission and even hire a professional signature-gathering company to help the group get the 7,381 signatures — 15 percent of the city’s registered voters — it needs to move the process forward.

So far, the group’s members have provided seed money for the group’s treasury and Mayor Will Flanagan has also made a $50 donation. Some of the funds were used to send out a mailing to local businesses this week to explain the importance of the charter revision and seek more financial support for those efforts.

The grassroots effort for this crucial task may not get the kind of volunteer help and attention that some of the more “glamorous” ballot initiatives receive, but it is beyond time for the charter to be revised. In fact, Fall River is in violation of state law by neglecting to do so.

As sometimes happens with all-volunteer efforts, people’s busy lives can get in the way and sometimes it takes longer than envisioned to realize the goal. So, while it’s understandable that it has taken longer than expected to get to the goal line, the efforts to speed up the process are indeed a welcome — and necessary — development for the good of the city.

Under the law, the charter is supposed to be reviewed every 10 years, but Fall River has no mechanism in place to do so, and the last major revision was made in 1934 with some smaller revisions in the 1970s. “We are probably the only community in the commonwealth that has never reviewed its charter,” Miozza said.

The Fall River Charter Review Group has been trying to change that. The home rule charter revision method being pursued by the group would be a two-step process. The first would be a ballot vote to establish a charter commission elected by voters. The second would be a referendum to accept the terms of the charter revision that commission proposes.

So far, the group has gathered more than 4,000 signatures, which it plans to bring to the Board of Elections for certification next week. While the goal was originally to get the questions on the November 2013 ballot, the group is now aiming for the November 2015 elections.

Revising the charter is important so Fall River can be in compliance with state law and operate in a more modern, efficient and effective manner. A charter revision would also likely provide some better checks and balances on mayoral power and allow the community an opportunity to develop a more representative government structure. Let’s hope 2015 is the year city government can begin to catch up with the changing times.

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